Present disclosure generally relates to data routing and forwarding, and more specifically, to techniques for centralizing and improving control, configuration and management of customer premises equipment (CPE).
Conventionally, CPE are devices that provide hardware based solutions for facilitating certain network-based services for the customer. CPE can be any terminal/device and associated equipment located at a subscriber's premises. In some instances, the CPE is connected with a network operator's or carrier's telecommunication channel. In some instances, the CPE provides the demarcation point (“demarc”) for the network operator for providing their services to the customer. In other words, the CPE acts as an extension of the network operator, residing at the customer premises and facilitates services provided by the network operator to the customer. The demarc is a point established in a building, complex or system to separate customer equipment from the equipment located in either the distribution infrastructure or central office of the network operator.
CPE may generally refer to devices such as telephones, routers, switches, residential gateways (RG), set-top boxes, fixed mobile convergence products, home networking adaptors and internet access gateways that enable consumers to access communications service providers' services and distribute them around their house or premises via a LAN (Local Area Network), digital subscriber line (DSL) or other broadband Internet routers, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) base stations or other systems used by particular service providers. Also included are key telephone systems and most private branch exchanges (PBX).
Generally, once the CPE is physically located at the premises of the customer, any changes to the CPE results in a technician visit to the customer, resulting in higher costs and inconvenience. Furthermore, the CPE usually has to be replaced if a certain functionality or service is not supported by the CPE or if the CPE needs an upgrade resulting in an additional cost to the customer or the network operator. Furthermore, the CPEs are single function devices and the customer may not be able to enable and use multiple services and functionality using the same CPE.
Although, a CPE is discussed throughout the specification, in several embodiments, a router may also be used instead of a CPE to perform several embodiments discussed herein. Furthermore, in some instances, the CPE may itself perform the functions of a router, such as forwarding of network data packets. A router is a specialized network device that is configured to forward data (e.g., network data packets) between networks to facilitate the delivery of the data from its source to its intended destination. A router is configured to determine optimal routes or data paths through an internetwork topology and transport network data packets using these optimal paths. A router also provides various other services such as firewall, Quality of Service (QoS), and the like.
A conventional router typically routes network packets and comprises a control plane subsystem and one or more data plane subsystems that are all housed within a single box or chassis. Network packets may include network control packets and network data packets. Network control packets may generally refer to router (e.g., control plane server computer) generated or received packets that are used for the creation and operation of the network itself. In one example, the network control packets may update and/or configure the data plane subsystem. Network data packets may generally refer to end-device user application generated packets that are forwarded by intermediary network devices to other end-devices.
A data plane, which may be implemented as a linecard in conventional systems, is configured to receive and forward network data packets via one or more ports of the data plane. The forwarding is performed based upon forwarding information stored by the data plane. The forwarding information that a data plane uses to forward the network data packets is typically programmed by the router's control plane subsystem, which may comprise one or more management cards. The control plane subsystem is configured to control the networking-related functions performed by the router, including, for example, maintaining routing information (e.g., routing information tables), programming the data forwarding planes forwarding information based upon the routing information, handling various networking control protocols, handling the processing of packets (e.g., control and/or data packets) that are terminated at a control plane, processing Access Control Lists (ACLs), Quality of Service (QoS), management functions, and the like.
As previously indicated, in a conventional router, the control plane subsystem of the router and the data planes that are controlled by the control plane subsystem are all physically co-located within the same physical network device box or chassis of the router. As a result, there is a static relationship between the control plane subsystem and the data plane subsystems of the router. This makes programming of such routers in a large network (e.g., internet), which may comprise tens of thousands of such routers, complicated and inflexible. When changes (e.g., addition or reconfigurations of data paths, addition or removal of network devices) have to be made to such networks, each individual router box affected by the change has to be individually programmed or re-programmed. This per router-centric management requirement makes management of such networks very complex and time consuming. As a result, networks using conventional routers lack the flexibility and dynamic configurability desired by today's (and tomorrow's) network applications such as cloud computing, mobile computing, real-time and on-demand video traffic, and the like.
Therefore, maintaining a network of conventional CPEs, especially CPEs that implement routing capabilities is expensive, complex, inflexible and difficult to upgrade and manage.